Lion dancers take Boulder's Pearl Street Mall

Annual Boulder Asian Festival continues today

A trail of loud-colored lions stomped and snaked its way around Pearl Street Mall on Saturday and effortlessly dodged the horde of tourists to a cacophony of drums and cymbals.

Two students from the Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu Association manned each of the seven lions. They came to a stop after making a full loop and continued to dance, jump on hind legs and writhe on the ground before pelting a crowd of onlookers with lettuce.

"If you get hit with the greens it's good luck," said Shifu Howie Solow. "People will grab at the greens like a bouquet at a wedding."

Shifu or Sifu is the traditional title bestowed up teachers of Kung Fu.

The lion dancing was part of the Boulder Asian Festival, which celebrates cultures not only in Asia, but also the Pacific Islands. According to festival organizer Brenda Pigao Pearson, about 4 percent of Boulder County's population is represented by Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Saturday's event — which continues on Sunday — featured Kung Fu demonstrations, Pacific Island and Indian dancing and Tibetan food, among other attractions.

It was also a special occasion, Pigao Pearson said, because it honored Boulder Asian Pacific Alliance founder Mariagnes Aya Medrud, who died in April. Boulder proclaimed Saturday as Mariagnes Aya Medrud Day.

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Solow said that the lion dance originated in a village in the Guandong province of China. The story goes that a monster named Nian-Shou came down from the mountains to terrify the villagers.

"The villagers eventually figured out the beast was afraid of itself," Solow said. "So they built these facsimiles and went out and performed and used firecrackers and loud instruments to scare it off."

Solow added that it is important for students to have a grasp on Chinese culture, because in the end, it will make them better at Kung Fu.

Vani Topkar performs traditional Indian dance at the festival on Saturday. For more photos and a video, go to www.dailycamera.com. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

"Our mission is to raise awareness of Chinese culture," he said. "We are truly traditional. We've been coined as 'stubbornly traditional.'"

Shifu Rama Kho said that he and his students would rather be doing Kung Fu than lion dancing but "people get bored watching punching and kicking"

However, he added, lion dancing is actually a good way to practice one's Kung Fu skills, because it is physically challenging, but also because it requires improvisation. Since Kung Fu is, after all, a martial art, it behooves one to be able to think on his or her feet.

He added that the Pearl Street Mall on Saturday served as an excellent example, because the lion dancers had to snake their way through a crowd of shoppers and tourists.

"This speaks a lot to being prepared and ready to go," he said.

Spectator Kurt Moses said he has spent a lot of time in Chinatown in San Francisco and has seen his fair share of lion dancing. He liked what he saw on Saturday.

He added that he was happy to see a large number of women participating in the dance, because in San Francisco, it was mostly men. The practice was common, because neighborhoods would compete with one another.

"These people are really good," Moses said. "It takes an awful lot of coordination, strength and choreography to do this."

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